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Before you enrol

Step 1. Make sure that you clearly understand what it is that landscape designers do!

Landscape and garden designers are a group of professionals who prepare designs for and at times oversee, the implementation of the design for large and small spaces. Among other services, they may provide one or more of the following:

[click on the hyperlink - the underline - for more information]


Completing this Diploma of Landscape Design will arm you with the skills necessary to conduct a landscape consultancy business offering the services listed above.

Special note: Starting any new business is risky - it takes time to make a profit. You might work long hours in your first year completing a small number of landscape jobs, increase that in the second year and by the third year, be completing enough work such that you make a profit. Completing this Diploma will not guarantee that you will get a job or be able to run a profitable business. You should plan to make sure that you have enough reserve capital to see you through the start up phase.

Step 2: Check out the syllabus below

This Diploma of Landscape Design consists of 6 stages with half a dozen or so projects in each, and a major project. Here is a link to a one page summary of what's in the diploma

Syllabus

Details about each stage below are set out below.

Stage 1

An introduction to the world of landscape and garden design including, but not restricted to, a study of the following:

Stage 2

Toward becoming a designer of garden spaces [using hand drawing techniques].

Stage 3

Becoming a professional designer of garden spaces. Here we teach the use of hand drawing skills and their use in producing landscape plans.

Stage 4

Introducing Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) as a tool for producing landscape plans because we believe that the efficient use of CAD software is the key to building a successful business.

  • Designing part of a courtyard in CAD
  • An introduction to the use of CAD software including GardenCAD to design gardens.
  • Online course on using GardenCAD
  • Design for an outdoor classroom
  • Design for a space 10 meters by 13 meters behind a two story house
  • Symbols in elevation
  • Establishing section and elevation views
  • Developing new symbols
  • Title blocks and logos
  • Site inventory
  • Designing for water wise gardens
  • Layers
  • Presentation

Stage 5

Advanced 2-D CAD. Ensuring that you can mange an entire project from start to finish using 2-D CAD.

  • Site measurement and triangulation
  • Concept plans
  • Own plant symbol in CAD
  • Design for front garden
  • Terrace house garden design project [client brief -outdoor entertaining, water features, sustainable design, lighting, sculptures, garden art, wall hangings and mosaics, boardwalks]
  • Design for large scale urban development - cadastral maps, working with surveyors
  • Rear garden courtyrad home
  • Large scale wetlands
  • Design for a rural property

Stage 6

Designing in a 3-D space. Many clients have great difficulty understanding 2-D drawings. Here we teach you to model in 3-D using modern software such as Google SketchUp.

  • An introduction to SketchUp
  • Design a seat and bollard using SketchUp
  • Design screening for water storage tank
  • 3-D model of terrace house garden design
  • Design of water feature in 3-D
  • Designing on sloping sites
  • SketchUp course
  • Using other CAD software (AutoCAD and IntelliCAD) in 3-D mode
  • A course on the use of project planning software - Microsoft Project

Major project

You will develop a complete plan for a landscape development site. You should have a real client, even if it is for a friend (not yourself) because negotiating with a client is an important part of your learning. The site area for this job should be reasonably large - a whole suburban block with front and rear yard (or larger). You will need to generate a site inventory, including slope analysis, check the soil and climatic conditions of the site, produce a 2-D design with a suitable planting list (making sure that you design with sustainable principles in mind). Your design must contain some form of urban wetland with underground water storage tanks, suitable planting such that little supplementary watering is required once established, 'hardscape' dimensions, details (such as a boardwalk) over wetland, costing materials specification, and several presentation sheets. You will treat the project as though you are going to manage it from start to finish and develop costing using spreadsheets, take into account tax rates (such as GST or VAT) leasing and hiring of equipment and manage Occupational Health and Safety regulations etc. 

A major part of the project will be the development of a project plan using Microsoft Project.

Step 3: Try before committing

We offer this Diploma free of cost (to the end of Stage 2). We may charge a modest fee when you wish to complete Stages 3-6 and the major project.

Here are the steps to take and things to evaluate before considering a formal enrolment.
  1. Since this Diploma is taught exclusively online, you will need a computer and fast Internet access (commonly called broadband access).
  2. It is a prerequisite that all students complete an online Basic Computer Skills course before starting the Diploma.  A suitable (and free) course on basic computer skills is available at http://www.designcad.com.au. We want you to take this course before enrolling, because it gives you experience in online learning and reassures us that your computer and Internet connection are suitable for our learning methods and materials. While working though the Basic Computer Skills course, you will also be asked to create a Gmail email address and send us a copy of a small piece of work that you have done [scan a simple drawing]. Please make sure that this Gmail address is used solely for work in this Diploma.  As part of a GMail account you get a Google Docs 'space'. Google offer within this space, a web based tool for creating stories, building spreadsheets, making presentations and uploading files. One Gigabyte (1000 Mb) of space is available free of charge. You will use that space to upload all the work that you do in this Diploma and we will provide feedback there after you invite us in. You will also need access to a scanner or digital camera capable of taking close up photos to upload you work to the Google Docs space. By the end of the Basic Computer Skills course we will know that you can send project material to us, ready for comment.

So, to sum up, you start by completing the Basic Computer Skills course at http://www.designcad.com.au/sta. As part of that course, you are shown how to set up a Gmail email account, create a Google Docs space, scan a simple drawing and upload it to the Google Docs space and finally share the document with us - share to (info@gardencad.net). Going through that process gives you some experience in online learning and sets up a space where you put all the work that you do in the Diploma. Once that's done, you work your way (in order) through the projects set out at left.

  1. We will also ask you to install several software tools, as you work through the Basic Computer Skills course. A number of these software tools will be required for later work.

The image below shows the first page of the printed manual that accompanies the course.

Manual

Here is a link so you can download (and if necessary print) the manual for the Basic Computer Skills course. We try and keep the manual up to date, but remember that the online web pages take precedent over the PDF manual.

To take the Basic Computer Skills Course, please visit http://www.designcad.com.au/sta. Log on as a guest, no user name or password are required.

  1. When you have finished the Basic Computer Skills course, we ask that you return to this web site (the Diploma site) and complete Stages 1 and 2 of the Diploma. Taking the Basic Computer Skills course and completing the first two stages in the Diploma will take considerable time, but by then, you would have progressed some considerable way towards obtaining your Diploma of Landscape Design. When you have completed these stages, you should have a good feel for what we do and feel comfortable about continuing with what is a fairly demanding program program and gaining access to feedback and our 'behind the scenes' resources [you will be able to log on as a registered diploma student at http://www.diploma.gardencad.net

  2. When you first begin this Diploma of Landscape Design, please send us an email note letting us know who you are and what you aims are. It would be good if you could tell us something about those aims in a note prepared using the word processor in Google Docs (and sharing the document with us) rather than sending an email note
Important note:

  • In order to be awarded the Diploma, students will be required to complete and pass all sections of the course within 24 months of the course start date. This cut off time is rigidly enforced as we do want people to commit to learning about landscape design and not drag things out over many years.

  • Although some modules form part of an accredited landscape design diploma and several of our tutors teach at University and college level, this Diploma is not accredited by any institution or organization. We have no intention of applying for formal accreditation as we wish to keep fees low.

  • Early on in the diploma, you will need to purchase some books and hand drafting materials - drawing board, scale rulers, technical and colouring pens etc.

  • You will build a portfolio of designs you have completed and take photographs of landscapes that you admire. We insist on this as the most valuable asset you have when starting out, is a portfolio to show your potential clients. We emphasize that you must start building this portfolio right from the beginning of your course.

Please contact us at info@gardencad.net if you require more information about the Diploma. 


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